Cognitive Sciences An Interdisciplinary Approach

The Experience of Compassion Possible Long-term

Changes in Cortex Areas. A Few Recent Findings in
the Field of Neurosciences

Adrian Sorin Mihalache

I. Loneliness: a possible argument for the importance of compassion

Various sociology and social psychology studies have noted that large conurbations
are fueling the phenomenon of loneliness. Increasingly more people choose to live alone or are
to by certain circumstances. The atomisation of prosperous societies has been proven
statistically. In recent decades, this way of life has encompassed almost all social categories
and findings indicate a growing trend that will increase in the future1.
Diverse and extensive papers present the possible implications of loneliness. In what
follows, I will only provide two references as arguments to emphasize the importance of the
current theme. On the one hand, an ever greater body of research points out the effects of
loneliness on health2. On the other hand, loneliness, as a distinct way of organizing personal

1
Here are some data to support this statement: statistics shows that in the US five million people aged between
18 and 34 years prefer living alone, which amounts to 10 times more than in 1950s. The number of those aged
35 and 64 who have made the same choice is even greater: 15 million. (Klinenberg 2012a) The Office for
National Statistics in the United Kingdom shows that the share of people living alone has doubled compared
with the 1970s. On the other hand, increasingly more young couples refuse to have children until around the
age of 30, preferring to live alone. Among couples, there is declining tendency to start a family. A quarter of
the population are couples without children, compared to less than a fifth in 1971. Finally, whereas in the early
1970s 4% of the population lived in single-parent families, by 2007 the figure reached 11%. Ever more elderly
persons live alone. Nowadays, for example, in the UK there are four times as many people aged over 90 years
than in the early 1970s. (Doughty 2009) Similar situations are encountered across the developed nations.
Approximately 27% of all households in Canada consist of single people. In the US, the figure is 28%, in Italy
29%, in South Africa 24%, in Sweden 47%, and in Japan 31% (Klinenberg 2012b).
2
The choice of loneliness and social isolation can cause various forms of distress, damaging the persons health
and happiness (Olds and Schwartz 2009). Loneliness affects health also due to its negative influence on the
quality of sleep. Although for those living alone the total duration of daily rest is not considerably different,
they wake up several times during the night, which reduces sleep quality (Kurina 2011, 1519-1526). On the
other hand, the high level of stress in large cities and the absence of a real social support lead to the increase in
deviant behaviors and psychiatric disorders among the urban population compared to those living in rural
areas. Among men, the risk of developing psychosis increases by 68% in urban areas compared to rural areas,
while for women the risk is 77% higher in urban areas compared to rural areas (Sundquist et al. 2004, 293-98).
Moreover, the absence of social support apparently causes a higher rate of schizophrenic disorders among
people living in large urban areas compared with subjects from identical numerical samples in rural areas
(Stanley et al. 2010, 101). The mere fact of being a member of an urban community and living in an apartment
building, surrounded by neighbors, do not change the data of loneliness and does not constitute viable
solutions (Jama 2010).

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life, tends to structure differently the communities and society overall.3 Generally, in large
cities the life and work of the person and of communities are configured differently. Income,
profession, lifestyle and the other values of life become the criteria that operate a selection
among fellow citizens. While it aims to establish a way of life that is as secure as possible, the
urban environment creates imaginary security borders. Within such a protected area, man
most often will include those who seem to be like him (Bauman and May 2008, 55). Those
who are marginalized, stigmatized, many among them victims of poverty or discrimination,
live in the suburbs: With the exhilarating bustle of urban life, there comes cool human
indifference fuelled by many interactions that are driven by exchange of goods and services
(Bauman and May 2008, 54-55).
As one would expect, this distance from ones peers significantly restricts a persons
range of sensitivity. Living in environments with high population densities, far from peers in
distress, man feels increasingly less responsibility for them. Ethical analyses have emphasized
that to a large extent considerations of spatial distance relative to ourselves affect our
concern for others. The closer their position is to yours, the stronger your concern (Persson
and Svulescu 2012, 29). In all these aspects we can glimpse, as noted by ethical analyses, a
certain deficient way of judging the reality and acting to improve it. A certain predisposition to
favor the near future causes us to exhibit weakness of will by choosing, against our better
judgment, to have a smaller good straightaway than to wait some extra hours for a much
greater good (Persson and Svulescu 2012, 28). In an assessment that would bring into play
the data of social neuroscience, all these aspects are decisively linked to compassion. We shall
further see that the accuracy of moral judgments is significantly influenced by the experience
of compassion and by how we choose to react in life situations that requires our emotional
participation in others suffering.
We present in what follows some results in the field of neuroscience which indicate
possible effects of compassion on the person and the way in which the persons life could be
affected due to a deficit of empathy.

II. Neuroplasticity and neurogenesis: conditions for the possibility

of changing ones life
Two dimensions of current medical science enable us to discuss compassion and the
enhancement of personal life. They have caused major changes in the paradigm of brain
sciences, in the second half of the last century. Both refer to the real possibility of recovery and
of inducing lasting changes in brain function in adulthood. In the following, we shall make a
brief considerations on them.The first concerns neuroplasticity. Medical sciences claimed for
a long time that neural connections were rigid, based on an anatomical and physiological
model which postulate that in the adult (neural) centres, nerve paths are something fixed,
ended and immutable (Terter et al. 2002, 402). Since the 1980s, and particularly in the first

3
Robert D. Putnams Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2000) is one of the works that warn about the unexpected negative effects of this transformation, on
economic and social mechanisms. It must be emphasized however, that certain approaches suggest that
loneliness tendencies might have positive social effects, namely an increased presence in the community area,
in the activities of civil society, in virtual networks, greater involvement in fostering relationships with friends,
acquaintances or neighbors, all aimed at offsetting loneliness (Klinenberg 2012c).

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decade of the twenty-first century, evidence has emerged showing that patients affected by
stroke can recover lost functions (Taub and Miller 1993, 347-354; Taub 2006, 1045-1049).
Ever more findings have accumulated in relation to the factors that have a decisive
contribution in neuroplasticity mechanisms and the concrete ways of making use of this
potential. In the meantime, ever more ways to induce changes in brain function improvement,
based on neuroplasticity, have been discovered, imagined and designed.4 As important point
in this first aspect under consideration is the emphasis that such neuroplasticity findings place
on everyday experiences. Everything that we experience has a direct effect in shaping our
patterns of thinking and emotion, each mental activity, especially as long as it is repeated
sufficiently, will tend to leave an ever deeper specific footprint on the cognitive 5 and
emotional level. These aspects will be reviewed below.
The second dimension, which brings about the discussion about the enhancement of
life by way of inducing changes in brain activity, also involves a substantial change in the
medical understanding of the brain. Throughout most of the last century, medicine declared
that neuronal tissue cannot regenerate. The authoritative voice of renowned neuroscientist
Santiago Cajal, a Nobel Prize laureate in medicine, summarized this view by stating that
Everything may die, nothing may be regenerated! (Teter 2002, 402). In the second half of the
twentieth century, however, findings emerged that showed that new nerve cells appear in the
brain of many species of animals! Subsequently, findings indicated that the same process also
occurs in humans.6 In a region called the dentate gyrus (located in the hippocampus) between
500 and 1,000 neurons are born every day, throughout ones life.7
4
For the purpose of illustrating these concerns, we provide a typical example. Aggressive tendencies correspond
to a more intense activity of the amygdala and are accompanied by an increase in testosterone levels. A greater
level of testosterone in the body can contribute to reducing the empathetic capacities of the human person. On
the other hand, as we shall see, oxytocin plays an important role in interpersonal psycho - emotional states.
Investigations in the neurobiology of attachment indicate that the hormone contributes decisively to care and
maternal behaviors (Damasio 2004, 146-148). Oxytocin is involved, for instance, in a process of remodeling
the brain, which occurs in mothers during breastfeeding. Specifically, as long as they breastfeed infants, the
brain area that controls the production of oxytocin has more connections, causing an increase in the quantity of
hormone (Theodosis et al. 1986, 738-740). In an April 2011 interview, experts from the Oxford Centre for
Neuroethics state that medicines of the future will be able to contribute to enhancing moral behavior by
stimulating the release of oxytocin or, conversely, by lowering testosterone levels. Through the regular intake
of tablets, perception and relationships with peers could be altered, aggression might be reduced, and
attachment to people might increase (Hill 2011). Of course, this approach to influencing behavior by medical
treatment, interpersonal relationships and relations with ones peers raises many ethical questions.
5
Particularly relevant on this point is a study published nearly a decade ago. After an experiment in which
subjects were investigated using RMI, during carefully selected moments of sensory experiences and
self-reflection, researchers concluded that when a person abandons themselves to intense sensory experiences,
their disposition for self-reflection considerably decreases (Goldberg et al. 2006, 337).
6
Research has shown that in some elderly patients aged over 70, healthy neurons appear. For some time,
however, due to the absence of an appropriate method, research could not investigate the birth of nerve cells in
humans. An important contribution was made after 1999 concerning some cancer patients. To view the spread
of certain types of cancer, medical procedures involve injecting a substance that enables the marking new
tumor cells in sick patients. This allows doctors to observe the spread and expansion rate of the disease, and to
locate new tumors. Researchers interested in observing the possibility of the birth of new neural cells in adults
brain used these clinical data. In fact, with the visualization of the spread of tumor cells all the new cells
emerging in the body were equally marked. In particular, therefore, in the case of cancers affecting the brain,
the process allowed the marking of all new cells in the brain, including healthy neurons.
7
It is true that 1,000 neurons might seem to be an insignificant number, but neuronal connectivity must also be
considered. Each neuron brings the possibility of connections with 10,000 other neurons - links by which new
cells connect to existing networks, contributing to the restoration or development of functions for which such
networks are responsible.

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Regarding neurogenesis, it is worth noting that neural stem cells present in the adult
brain are in a dormant state which does not allow them to multiply and differentiate.
Astrocytes - larger, star-shaped brain cells play a decisive role in the stem cells dormancy
as they block, through two specific molecules, the awakening (i.e. multiplication and
differentiation) of neural stem cells. Similarly, two proteins (ephrim-A2 and ephrin-A3) have
been shown to play a critical role in triggering neuronal stem cell division, in subgranular zone
(SGZ) and subventricular zone (SVZ) (Jiao et al. 2008, 8781-8782) and differentiation
(Schmidt et al. 2009, 873-880).
However, and this is significant in examining the present topic, under certain
conditions the dormancy of stem cells can be halted, in some situations even through
voluntary activities, such as physical and intellectual pursuits, meditation, compassion or
fasting (Lugert et al. 2010, 445-456). The situation has proven to be valid, for example, in the
case of earlier research conducted on animal species whose brain had been affected by
accidents or radiation (Naylor et al. 2008, 1-6). In humans too research indicates indeed that
the stock of neural stem cells and the frequency with which they generate to new nerve cells
are not decisively influenced by age. Adults of all ages do not have a significantly different
number of neural stem cells in the hippocampus. As for the frequency of the generation of new
neural cells, although it decreases with age, it can be influenced by voluntary activities.8 As
regards neurogenesis, it is not the raw material that declines, but rather the intensity of the
division and differentiation of stem cells.9 Nonetheless, mental exercises stimulate the birth of
nerve cells in the neural stem cells (Wu et al. 2008, 1585-1594). The neurogenesis process is
also closely linked to physical exercise and memory usage (Coras et al. 2010, 3359-3372). In
general, mental effort and learning are closely linked to the process of formation of new
neurons (Sahay et al. 2011, 466-470).

III. Empathy and compassion

III.1 An essential distinction regarding the meaning of terms

Compassion was missing for a long time from the discourse of the sciences of the
psyche. Richard Davidson states that in the 1980s, the term compassion was not listed in any
of the major psychology publication indexes (Davidson, and Begely 2015; Strickland 2001).10
Psychology used the term empathy to refer to this particular way of interpersonal relation.
Empathy is defined in psychology as the capacity to understand the thoughts and
feelings of another person (Strickland 2001, 219). In common usage too, empathy refers to the
possibility of knowing the state of the other through emotional identification, an ability to be

8
For example, some studies on animals have shown that while at an early age 25% of stem cells divide, only 8%
will still divide in adults and only 4% in old age individuals (Hattiangady et al. 2008, 129-147).
9
One might believe that stem cell multiplication is an absolute advantage, however the physiological sleep
of neural stem cells is necessary, as this prevents indefinite cell multiplication, an issue that would lead to
tumors. On the other hand, in the dormant state, the cells remain available to intervene in cases of
degeneration (Mirasend et al. 2010, 78-89).
10
For instance, The Gale Encycplopedia of Psychology (2001, Farmington Hills: Gale Group), does not include
the term compassion.

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affected and to communicate someones state.11 This meaning is also significantly amended,
in that that empathy refers to feeling what someone else feels, without however losing
awareness of the self (Hollinsworth 2008, 839). The characterization of empathy requires
both self-awareness and an understanding of the others state, an emotion related to
anothers emotion, which nonetheless occurs along with our own evaluations and judgments
of ourselves (Strongman 2003, 145). Studies in neuropsychology have shown that empathy,
the ability to suffer together with those in distress, is closely linked to cortical structures
present in emotion (amygdala nuclei), mirror neurons and estrogens (female hormones)
(Cameron and Payne 2012, 225-229).
Compassion shares a common root with the word empathy (i.e. pathos)12, and is also
understood as the capacity to suffer together with someone else (De Vaan 2008). Just like
empathy, compassion depends on brain areas responsible for understanding emotional
expressions and contents of fellow human beings, and is essentially linked to mirror neurons
(Carr et al. 2003; Gallese 2003). However, unlike empathy, compassion involves a clear,
pressing intention for action to improve the state of the suffering person (Hollinsworth 2008,
839). Indeed, neuroscientific explorations have highlighted that in addition to cortical areas
responsible for understanding the situation of the other, the experience of intense compassion
activates areas in the premotor and motor cortex (Davidson, and Begely 2015, 261). In relation
to this last consideration, compassion is understood as the emotion felt by someone when
encountering suffering and the desire to help those that suffer, taking on personal, time and
emotional costs (Saslow et al. 2012, 31-38).
Accordingly, in recent research, compassion is understood as having a strong practical
component, related to mutual help, which completes ones understanding of the others
psychic landscape. For example, in the field of patient care concerns, compassion is viewed as
the most effective intervention in relation to patients, characterized by three aspects:
recognition of suffering, emotional resonance, and an action to address suffering (Cameron et
al. 2013), in order to help the person concerned.
A detailed analysis of compassion highlights various essential aspects of expression:
tone of voice, body language, facial expression, rhythm of speech, gestures. A comprehensive
list of cues that outline the expression of compassion must also include moments of silence
(pauses in speech), sighs or hugs, the intensity of pronunciation of words or the orientation of
ones gaze. Analyses of this type show that the attitudes and behavior specific to compassion
are decisively expressed by ones overall presence, ones emotional commitment, and the
concrete way in which one participates in the conversation with the person in distress
(Cameron et al. 2013). Finally, for some authors, compassion is a personality trait that can be
developed, a point we will seek to illustrate with some recent findings (Lutz et al. 2008).

III.2 Cortical areas involved in the experience of compassion

In his 1998 book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life (Amen 1998), neuroscientist
Daniel Amen presented a whole series of clinical data on the possible links between certain
subclinical dysfunctions, identified by medical imaging in various brain areas, and some

11
The etymon is Greek: e (emptheia, meaning to suffer, consisting of e (en) mean in and
(pthos) which means feeling.
12
Compassionem (nominative compassio) which might be translated as sympathy, compati formed of theparticle
com meaning together and pati which means to suffer (de Vaan, Michiel. 2008, online edition).

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emotional problems, attitudes and behaviors of the patients. Based on his rich clinical
experience, Amen provides numerous indications concerning certain brain areas with a
decisive role in interpersonal relations.
In 2008, in an excellent synopsis article on interpersonal neurobiology, published in
the journal Zygon, one of the most respected publications exploring interdisciplinary research
in theology and science, Andrea Hollinsworth, drawing on high-quality research in the area of
the neuroscience of spiritual life, records the most important observations on the brain areas
that play a decisive role in interpersonal experience, in particular compassion.
The 2012 book The Emotional Life of Your Brain, authored by the renowned
physician Richard Davidson (Davidson and Begley 2012), presents one of the most developed
maps of the areas of the brain playing a decisive role in our emotions. The author, who could
rightly called, alongside only a few other scholars, the founder of neuroscience spiritual life,
presents a brain-based overview of emotional styles.
Based on these three works, we have made a short list of the brain areas that prove to
be essential in the experience of compassion.
a. The insula (I) a section of the deep brain situated under the lateral sulcus (which
separates the temporal lobe from the parietal and frontal lobes). Considered to be viscerotrope
map of the body, the insula sends regulatory signals to visceral organs (Davidson and Begley
2012, 116). Insular cortex seems to mediate a whole range of emotions (from disgust to love)
and together with the Gingular cortex (CG) it enables the awareness of the condition of the
body, the perception of emotions and reflections. Activity intensifies in the insula during
meditation (Hollinsworth 2008, 843). According to certain findings, following meditation
practiced for 27 minutes a day for 8 weeks, the density of gray matter in the insula increased
(Hlzel et al. 2013, 36-43).
b. Cingulate cortex (CG) is an area associated with empathy, long-term emotions
(feelings), and is also activated in social cooperation situations. The anterior cingulate cortex
plays a key role in monitoring the environment and initiates actions to facilitate a
purpose-oriented behavior. Clinical data collected by Daniel Amen shows that GC controls
cognitive flexibility, the ability to move from one idea to another, cooperation, and shifting
attention (Davidson and Begley 2012, 180; Amen 1998, 201-227).
c. the Orbital medial prefrontal cortex (OMPFC) is responsible for integrating sensory
data (perception data), emotional (inner) data and states (Hollinsworth 2008, 843);
d. the hippocampus (H) - specialised in spatial, sequential and emotional organization
as well as memory and learning (Hollinsworth 2008, 843);
e. The amygdala (A) - plays a central role in the instinctive fight-or-flight response
(Hollinsworth 2008, 843). It determines mood, enables the labeling of external events through
internal states, and depending on their importance to the inner world, stores emotional
memories, supporting the establishment of interpersonal connections (Amen 2012, 153-155).
Resilience, the capacity of a person to recover from a distressing experience, depends on the
quality of information exchanged between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala (Davidson and
Begley 2012, 105);
f. the premotor cortex (PMC) - is active in compassion, enabling the planning of
concrete actions to help those in distress (Davidson and Begley 2012, 261);
Other decisive structures in receiving emotions and developing and expressing the
appropriate responses are:
g. the prefrontal cortex (PFC) enables the identification and expression of emotions,
the experience of love, happiness and other feelings; it should be noted that according to

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clinical data, serotonin deficiency manifests in excessive focus of attention, while dopamine
deficiency is manifested by a decrease in the focus of attention (Amen 2012, 199);
h. the basal ganglia (BG), according to clinical data, integrate feelings and motion,
stimulate motivation and mediate euphoric or ecstatic states (Amen 2012, 114);
i. the temporal lobes (TL), according to clinical data, play a significant role in
emotional contents. The area situated in the dominant hemisphere makes possible emotional
stability, the understanding and processing of language in addition to complex memories and
visual and auditory processing, while the area located in the non-dominant hemisphere enables
recognition of facial expressions and decoding of voice intonation, decisive elements in
recognizing the emotions expressed by someone (Amen 2012, 248-267).
j. the mirror neurons (MN) are structures located in the frontal and parietal regions at
the intersection of the visual areas, the motor areas and those that process emotions. The mirror
neurons provide the possibility to represent the psychological landscape of another person, the
ability to feel what other people feel. Their position in the cortex enables a connection between
observation, feeling and action, as is the case for compassion (Hollinsworth 2008, 847).

IV. Effects of compassion in the personal and community life

IV.1 Some landmark findings in the neuroscientific exploration of compassion

Certain landmark findings are worth presenting in a paper that seeks to provide an
introduction into aspects related to neuroscience research in the field of spiritual life. First of all,
it must be said that, chronologically, the neuroscience of spiritual life, an area where one finds
most of the focus and findings on compassion, is relatively new.
The history of compassion integrating the area of neuroscience as a research topic has
been convoluted. Three works in Romanian literature provide data which can outline this
history by summarizing notable events (Ornish 2008; Begley 2010; Davidson and Begley
2013). On this point, we shall briefly refer to some of these research undertakings. In the 1970s,
Richard Davidson introduced the theme of spiritual practices on the agenda of the American
academic world. In 1988, a study led by David McClelland managed to prove that loving
kindness, compassion for others, has beneficial effects on the body.13
In parallel, some earlier research from the 1950s, which showed the effects of stress
on behavior of rats, were followed by spectacular developments. In the 1990s, findings showed
the influence of a mothers comforting touch on cortisol levels (stress hormone released by the
adrenal glands). If deprived of their mothers touch, rat pups record higher cortisol levels,
which entail, in fact, lower resistance to demanding situations, low interest in exploring a new
territory, even though an olfactory reward is presented to them. The situation is due to the
number of glucocorticoid receptors in the brain, which varies depending on the frequency with
which baby rats are comforted. If baby rats born to stress mothers are entrusted to a caring
mother, who comforts them enough, their situation improves (Meaney 1999, 1155-1158).

13
In the experiment conducted by Dr. David McClelland, some participants watched a touching film in which
Mother Teresa tended the sick, while others viewed a film about the Nazis. The findings showed that people who
watched the film about Mother Teresa showed high levels of antibodies. In viewers who watched the film about
Mother Teresa, there was a significant increase in salivary immunoglobulin A, an antibody for bacteria and viruses
(McClelland and Kirchnit 1988, 31-52).

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There followed, in the mid-90s, discoveries related to mirror neurons, structures

adapted for interpersonal communication and empathy which allow a person to experience
intimately what another person facing them feels and discoveries relating to behavioral
medicine.14
At the same time, it was confirmed that the lack of maternal affection can have
long- lasting effects in children too. Studies that focused on mechanisms of touch and how it
may influence growth in baby rats, showed that rats could develop only if they are touched
regularly by their mother during the first 20 days of their life. Conversely, if they are
deprived of mothers touch, the production of growth hormones halted (Schanber 2003,
10261030). Such growth delays were also recorded in children deprived of their mothers
love. Research focused on how abandoned children evolved, in psycho-emotional and health
terms, and showed that during the first year from adoption, most medical conditions and
problems disappeared. The same did not occur regarding the emotional and behavioral
profile, which remained deeply affected by certain attachment disorders, an inability to
participate in the establishment of stable, positive emotional bonds, even with close
connections.15
Further research exposed the consequences of the mothers affectionate behavior on
the childs neural biochemistry. This concerns the levels of vasopressin and oxytocin, which are
significantly influenced by the mothers comforting hugs (Fries et al. 2005, 17237-17240). An
unexpected convergence between several concerns in the area of medicine and psychology
made possible the integration of compassion as a subject of research in the field of
neuroscience. This involved research in health psychology, with extensive longitudinal and
transversal studies, in integrative medicine, and in psychology, related to attachment theory
models. Moreover, studies on touch, regarding the effect of maternal tenderness on childrens
stress levels, research on stress etc contributed to bringing ever closer the borders between
scientific exploration and the spiritual sphere. All of this was complemented by the decisive
contribution of pioneering approaches, unique in the 1970s throughout world academia. This
included bold approaches on previously unexplored themes in the field of psychology and
medical sciences. In particular, it is worth recalling research by Richard Davidson on emotions,
Jon Kabat-Zinn on meditation, James H. Austin, seeking to highlight the effects of Zen
meditation on the brain, Harold G. Koenig, concerned with the beneficial effects of religious
life on health of the person and the community, David McClelland, on beneficial immune
effects of certain spiritual practice. We shall make below certain considerations on some
findings in neurosciences regarding the experience of compassion.

IV.2. Some findings concerning certain possible effects of compassion on the

emotional, cognitive, medical and professional levels

14
Wide-ranging longitudinal studies have revealed the fact that the attachment and warmth expressed in family
relationships exert long-term influence on health, dispositions and the manner of perceiving life experiences. The
relationships that we develop in childhood are predictors for long-term health, precisely because they largely
determine a specific organization of life: nutrition, healthy or unhealthy behaviors acquired during childhood, the
approaches chosen to cope with difficult situations (Ornish 2008).
15
Research tracked a number of adopted children after they had spent periods ranging between 7 and 42 months in
orphanages that provided precarious services, amid extreme poverty, in the absence of affection, in
environments lacking stimuli and human interaction. The study focused on these children, as they had not
received, throughout that period, the adults love and affection as answers that would attest the adults recognition
and response to their needs (Fries et al. 2005, 17237-17240.

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We add below some of the most recent such findings. Some research has revealed
new aspects in the link between the experience of compassion, emotional reactions and certain
aspects of cognitive activity. A comparative study, which focused on two different types of
meditation, showed how compassion can reshape emotional reactions, triggering a change in
the pattern of activity of amygdala nuclei. It found a significant reduction in negative emotions
(anger, anxiety or sadness) when one meets a suffering person. These findings prove that the
experience of compassion can trigger a long-term change in neural activity in those brain areas
that correspond to emotional states (Desbordes et al. 2012, 12). On the other hand, the
experience of compassion can play, for the person experiencing it, an important role in
cognitive reorganization as it can contribute to the re-signification of dramatic experiences and
situations traumatic in ones past. Hence, by repeatedly manifesting compassion for those in
distress, the person can indirectly cause a transformation of ones perspective on ones own
dramatic situations from the past (Lutz et al. 2008, 4-6).
Moreover, the experience of compassion has beneficial effects on ones health.
Several studies indicate results in support of this connection. Some results show that the
experience of compassion reduce the level of inflammation in the body (the Cytokine effect)
(Kaliman et al. 2014, 96-107). On the other hand, it could be determined that more attentive
care, which expresses greater compassion on the part of healthcare practitioners, can induce an
improvement in the patients well-being, reducing the incidence of depression and ulcers
(Kostovich et al. 2014). The doctors approach which exhibits compassion has significant
results in patients affected by colds, shortening the recovery period. Measurements at the level
of immune cells have found that in patients who felt empathy from the doctor, during their
appointment, enhanced immunity was recorded after 48 hours of their first visit (Rakel et al.
2009, 494-501; Rakel et al. 2011, 390-397).16
Another set of results concerning experience of compassion are relevant to the field of
education and training. Recently, MRI scanning has been used to emphasize specific changes
in brain function prompted by training (coaching) based on compassion. The classical
approach to education focuses on eliminating negative aspects, on the analysis of the
difficulties that the student might face, and on sanctioning and correcting errors. The approach
to education based on compassion training is future-oriented, as it seeks to draw on the positive
side of the current situation, to build on the students personal failures, thus contributing to
more efficient learning. Compassion actually stimulates the neuroendocrine networks which
facilitate the proper functioning of cognitive networks, enhancing attention, raising the
learners openness and his receptivity to new things. Research data show that as a result of
freely expressing ones personal understanding and concerns, cortex areas corresponding to

16
Such data lead to an inevitable important conclusion: the focus on the quality of health care should not only
concern legislative aspects, the quality of equipment and the level of training of medical staff, rather it should also
involve the psychological training of practitioners, the quality of emotional connections that they can develop with
patients. Regarding the expression of compassion in medical care, it is worth mentioning compassion fatigue
syndrome. It is often encountered in people who care for terminally-ill patients, or patients with severe conditions,
and manifests as distancing oneself from the patient, as a means of self-protection. Symptoms of compassion
fatigue include insomnia, irritability, lack of good mood, the tendency to consume alcohol, and chronic fatigue. As
in the case of people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, those affected by compassion fatigue relive or
recall repeatedly the suffering or death of patients. Over time, compassion fatigue can lead to seclusion, loss of
compassion, cynicism and boredom, decline in work productivity and may ultimately lead to severe depression or
anxiety disorders (Najjar et al. 2009, 267-277).

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cognitive, perceptual and emotional abilities are activated for a few days stimulating the proper
functioning of brain areas which play an important role in learning.17

IV.3 The experience of compassion and ethical dimension of social life

The experience of compassion also has an important contribution in the social sphere.
According to certain authors, in our regular activity, we formulate two distinct types of
judgments: some are analytic or quantitative, while others are more refined and closely
connected to emotional content. The latter are to a large extent shaped by empathy and the
experience of compassion. The two brain networks correspond to particular types of
judgments: one consists of cold, analytic reasoning, while the other evaluates the emotional
content, seeking an interpersonal, social understanding of a situation. Najjar argues that the two
networks, i.e. analytic and empathetic, tend to suppress each other. In many concrete situations
of life, cold, analytic judgments are necessary. Solving an economic or mathematical problem
requires quantitative judgments, and in such a case the network corresponding to empathy is
not active. If however an emotionally charged life situation is at stake, then both the contents
of experiences and the judgments are considerably different. When one must evaluate the aid
to be given to a friend going through a dramatic situation, the people who are predisposed to
empathy will think and resolve through the neural network responsible for empathetic
judgment, while the analytic one is deactivated (Najjar et al. 2009, 267-277).18
Such findings indicate that the experience of compassion is essential in moral
judgments. Ignoring or inhibiting compassion, as proven elsewhere, impacts the quality of
moral judgments itself. People who inhibit their empathy and deliberately avoid expressing
compassion will later be less demanding in moral terms. In fact, researchers argue that, once a
person has denied themselves the expression of compassion and they subsequently must
assume certain responsibilities, cognitive dissonance will cause a relaxation in moral attitudes
and beliefs. Once they have inhibited compassion, people tend to relax rules and moral
requirements to maintain consistency in their approach (Cameron and Payne 2012, 225).

17
On the same note, compassion proves to be useful in management. An approach inspired by compassion may
cause a significant change in relations with employees, being more appropriate than penalties in tense situations.
Rather than seeking to penalize angry members of staff, treating such expressions as inadequate, the manager may
choose to show compassion towards employees and register the message from disgruntled employees, and thus
seek to reduce tension in the workplace and restore favorable work relationships. In doing so, the manager avoids
imposing penalties and provides an example of how to react to staff (Geddes and Stickney 2011, 201-230).
18
The idea of functional typologies, of thought patterns, is also found in other authors. In an extensive paper,
Andrew Newberg proposes six operators that correspond to mental activities, also suggesting possible areas that
would correspond to their operation. The operators are: causal, abstract, binary, reductionist, quantitative,
emotional and holistic (with correspondents in the left hemisphere), holistic (with a neural correlative in the right
parietal) and value (with a neural correlative in the corpus callosum). The causal operator ensures that reality is
respected in terms of causal sequences, being present in the development of natural sciences, while the abstract
operator allows the formulation of general concepts based on the data of experience. The binary operator allows
the association of appropriate meanings to facts and circumstances in the outside world, using dyads such as good
or bad, hard-working or lazy, guilty or innocent, beautiful or ugly, true or false, well-behaved
or naughty, while the quantitative operator enables the abstraction of quantities that may be perceived being
used to count, to weight, and to compare sizes (Najjar et al. 2009, 267). The reductionist makes possible the
essentiality of a large section of reality and is frequently used in logical or mathematical judgments and analytic
approaches. The holistic operator is somewhat opposed to the reductionist one, as it provides the possibility for a
broader perspective of reality, and its neural correlate is situated in the non-dominant hemisphere. Finally, the
emotional operator allows us to evaluate, from a value-based perspective, and to remain attached to the same
situations in reality which carry certain meanings relative to ourselves (DAquili and Newberg 2001, 52-57).

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But such findings are of an even greater edifying value if one considers subliminal
conditioning. The observations made so far, regarding the importance of everyday experiences
on our emotional state and on our thought habits, are relevant on the personal and social level.
The priming effect shows that experiences, even those experienced at lesser intensity, and even
those unconsciously experienced, can condition us subliminally. The life situations that we go
through and how we cope with them will change, in a certain way, our way of perceiving the
world and our actions in that they change our inner dispositions (Krosnick et al. 1992, 152-162).
The role of subliminal conditioning has been emphasized, as even situations that we view as
insignificant may change our inner state and the decisions we make. And this occurs as the
participation in the respective conditioning life situation is experienced intensely or repeatedly.
Inner disposition changes more and more profoundly, for a longer period of time (Mikulincer and
Gillath 2001, 1205-1224). We are dealing, in such intense and repeated experiences, with
induced neuroplasticity, reflected in new neural connections (Yoshii 2007, 702-711).19
Finally, a few other results regarding the ethical dimension of social life complete
these findings, further emphasizing the importance of the experience of compassion. A 2011
study shows that people from low-income socio-economic classes are more psychologically
and physiologically adjusted to suffering. They express compassion more easily. Conversely,
people with high incomes, who experience suffering less often, are not adapted to difficult
situations, and consequently will not easily recognize expressions of suffering in others. That is
why, as they do not recognize suffering, they cannot provide an adequate response to those
who experience it. Therefore, high socioeconomic status correlates rather with a low level of
empathy and compassion (Stellar et al. 2012, 449-459).20 Data show that the heart rate of a
person who is not adapted to compassion grows in the presence of someone in distress, which
indicates a stressful state. On the contrary, research has emphasized, the person who expresses
compassion for the suffering will have a lower heart rate, feeling calm while providing help
(Stellar et al. 2012, 449-459).

V. Possible ways to stimulate and develop the disposition for

compassion
We have already seen, at the beginning of this undertaking, that many findings on
neuroplasticity support the claim that cognitive patterns can be changed. On the same note,
findings have emerged showing that there is a plasticity of emotional styles too. As long as
emotional patterns are based on neural circuits, by virtue of synaptic plasticity, the possibility

19
It is worth highlighting here a particular aspect of consumer culture. On the one hand, ever more tragic events are
captured and broadcast on news channels. On the other hand, cinema productions (action films, thrillers, horrors,
and war and disaster film) and computer games present numerous scenes of physical and psychological violence.
To this are added the violent images in contact sports, with more extensive competitions being organized and
more flexible rules that allow a growing variety of strikes. Finally, the virtual world provides access to extremely
violent scenes: road accidents recorded on cameras mounted on vehicles, murders captured by urban surveillance
cameras, street fights, and violent demonstrations, executions carried out by radical or fundamentalist movements.
All these productions configure new cultural conditions, which may condition subliminally.
20
It is important to note, nevertheless, that according to the cited study, the lack of disposition for compassion
manifested by those with higher income is not determined by their lack of sensitivity or concern for the suffering;
rather those with higher income perceive less stress, suffering and anxiety in others, because in their personal
experience they experience such emotions less.

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Adrian Sorin Mihalache

of induced changes can be considered. Indeed, emotional styles correspond to neural circuits
(Fraley 1997, 1080-1091) that may be modified given appropriate experiences and cognition
(Mikulincer and Shaver 2004, 940-956).
It has been proven by other studies that meditation triggers lasting changes in brain
function, in those areas corresponding to emotional activity. The exploration of possibilities for
the voluntary stimulation of the disposition for compassion has revealed that activity in the
neural networks responsible for empathy can be transformed through training, as for acquiring
the skill of playing a musical instrument. Compassion meditation even generated lasting
changes in neural networks corresponding to emotions and feelings (Lutz et al. 2008, 4-6).
Another study, which looked at two different types of meditation, revealed that each type
determined specific responses in the amygdala. Evidence suggests that the practice of
compassion meditation for 8 weeks triggers significant changes in the relevant areas
corresponding to emotions and changes persist after the end of the meditation practice.21
Explorations have focused on the effects of compassion meditation on behavior,
highlighting a stimulating of virtuous behavior, oriented towards helping a person in distress,
which indicates changes in emotional dispositions (Condon et al. 2011). Having noted the
effects of compassion meditation on health and life, researchers have developed, based on
exercises specific to ancient spirituality, a training program to enhance the disposition for
compassion. Following this special cognitive-based compassion training (CBCT), subjects
were found to have improved capacity for understanding facial expressions, a decisive factor in
interpersonal relations. In this final example too, it was confirmed that meditation prompts a
significant increase in neural activity in brain areas responsible for empathy. The areas
concerned are the inferior frontal gyrus and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, two key areas
in recognizing the emotional states of others.22
Furthermore, confirming the statements at the beginning, findings indicate that
persons engaged in the compassion meditation practice show improvements in health, in
particular a reduction in inflammatory responses and increased stress resistance and a lower
incidence of depression (Pace 2009, 914-922). Such data have been endorsed by approaches in

21
Scientists managed to induce (following an 8-week meditation program) measurable changes in brain activity.
Changes persisted even when the person was no longer in state of meditation. Two types of practices were
examined: attention meditation - focusing on the data of perception, an awareness of breathing, thoughts and
emotions - and compassion meditation, respectively. People from a third control group participated in a health
education course, during the same period. Findings showed that each of the two forms of meditation activates
different brain areas. Meditation increases the disposition for compassion and emotions linked to it, determining
an increase in amygdala response, in concrete situations where the person meets subjects in distress. Increased
activation of the amygdala (in the right region), which occurred only in subjects who practiced compassion
meditation, was correlated with decreased rates of depression in the practitioner group (Desbordes 2012, 12).
22
Compassion meditation is practiced following a simple scenario: the subjects are first asked to remember
someone they know, carefully fixing their attention on a situation on that persons past, when he or she had
suffered, to have a benchmark situation that would inspire an intense desire for well-being for the man or woman
in distress, oriented towards overcoming such suffering. Subsequently, the desire for well-being for ones
loved ones in distress is expanded mentally to encompass, gradually, ones acquaintances, distant contacts and
strangers. In relation to all of these, a sense of compassion deliberately intensifies, building on the compassion felt
for ones close relations who are suffering. The final goal of this mental exercise, seeking to expand the scope of
compassion, is to extend this state, these feelings towards all beings without ones thought specifically targeting
someone close. (Lutz et al. 2008, 4-6; Mascaro et al. 2012). CBCT (Cognitive Base Compassion Training)
includes, in addition to the elements mentioned in compassion meditation, a deliberate orientation towards the
compassionate perception of reality, of humans, leading to a reorganization / reinterpretation of ones relations
with others. The basic idea refers to the fact that emotions, though they cannot be controlled, can be enhanced and
can be modeled. CBCT aims to ground the understanding and belief that all persons are interdependent, and that,
on a deep level, each person wants to be happy and free from suffering (Lutz et al. 2008, 4-6; Mascaro et al. 2012, 8).

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social psychology regarding health: social support and connectivity are decisive. To a large
extent, the mental health of the members of a community is closely related to the sense of
security and their belonging to a community characterized by cohesion and spiritual unity
(Zammit 2010, 914-922).

VI. Conclusions
A comprehensive list may include four major contributors to a persons particular
way of being and acting: the genetic heritage one is born with, the life environment in which
one lives, the experiences one has and the way the person chooses to interpret life situations
(Davidson and Begley 2015, 133-146). Each of these factors plays an important role in the
persons development. Generally, findings in neuroscience, following research over the past
three decades, point to three decisive factors that may induce significant changes in the
emotional patterns of and cognitive habits: life environment, the undergone experiences and
how the person interprets life situations. Following research carried out in recent decades,
findings in neuroscience have unearthed decisive factors that can enable significant changes
in emotional patterns and cognitive habits: neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, processes that
herald significant potential for the enhancement of life, even in old age.
The current cultural and technical context indicates that the moral bio-
enhancement of society is highly necessary (Persson and Svulescu 2012, 28-29).
Compassion plays an important role in this intervention aimed at enhancing life and the
world. Numerous studies highlight the multiple effects of compassion on health, education,
workplace relations and the structuring of the community. In addition, there is ample
evidence that the disposition for compassion, as a potential inter-personal, intra- familial and
intra-community bonds, can be developed through structured experiences, and, of course,
through the practice of spiritual life. A vast field of interaction opens up here, at the
intersection of these broad areas of reflection, which requires far-reaching future research.
Of particular interest is the immense potential of Christian sphrough the love of
ones neighbor, according to the evangelical model, and the distinctions and possible
convergence between the Philokalic exercises specific to the Christian East and the
compassion development techniques proposed by the spirituality of the Far East and
explored by neuroscience nowadays. Indeed, findings show that environment and experience
do not have the last word in mans development, and do not circumscribe, along with genetic
legacy, mans scope of movement. Man remains free, relative to the environment in which
he lives and the experiences he had in the past, especially because man can choose how to
look at things. It would also be worthwhile to carefully explore the philosophical reflection
on the understanding of the other and how the dimension of otherness can be brought into
play in connection with promoting compassion for the sake of personal and community
edification. Yet this will be the object of other explorations.

Acknowledgement: This paper is supported by the Sectoral Operational

Programme Human Resources Development (SOP HRD), financed from the European
Social Fund and by the Romanian Government under the contract number
POSDRU/159/1.5/S/133675.

223
Adrian Sorin Mihalache

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